Nintendo's Iwata doesn't fear failure

October 11th, 2013, 00:21 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo's president wants the company to keep taking risks and innovating
[h=3]Nintendo[/h]nintendo-europe.com


In a talk at the B Dash Camp startup conference in Osaka, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata explained that the company does not fear failure. Iwata characterized Nintendo as a company that innovates and takes risks.
"When we talk about Nintendo we cannot ignore [former president] Hiroshi Yamauchi who just recently passed away," said Iwata, according to translations by The Bridge. "He always said that if you have failure, you don't need to be too concerned. You always have good things and bad, and this reflects the history of Nintendo. If you do the same thing as others, it will wear you out. Nintendo is not good at competing so we always have to challenge [the status quo] by making something new, rather than competing in an existing market."
Iwata explained that Nintendo has always gone against the grain, highlighting some of the company's past successes.
"It's often called the 'Blue Ocean Strategy', looking for something that no one else is working on," he said. "When we created the DS, people said it was strange to have a dual display, and people said elderly people don't play games. But they did. Opening the first door is when things are most interesting."
"Will America accept cute monsters? No, they said. Some people even recommended to make Pikachu more muscular. If we followed their advice Pokemon would never have been the success that it was. Brain Training software (Brain Age) became a hit in Japan, and I proposed that we sell it globally. And even as I said that as the president, no one listened."

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...t-fear-failure

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Nintendo launching three Wii U bundles for Christmas

October 11th, 2013, 00:13 Posted By: wraggster

Three new Wii U hardware bundles will be available at UK retail this Christmas.
The Mario & Luigi Premium Pack arrives on November 8^thand includes both New Super Mario Bros U and New Super Luigi U “as a ‘2 in 1’ disc” along with a black Premium 32GB Wii U and black GamePad.
The Wii Party U Basic Pack will then be released on November 15^th. That includes a 8GB white Basic Wii U, white GamePad, white Wii Remote Plus, sensor bar and disc copies of Wii Party U and Nintendo Land.
Lastly, November 22^nd will see the release of the Just Dance 2014 Basic Pack, which offers the same as the Wii Party U pack except that it swaps Nintendo’s game for a copy of Ubisoft’s dance title.
All three appear to be priced at £249.99, according to the new Nintendo UK online store.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/ninte...istmas/0122388

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No DLC for Assassin's Creed IV on Wii U

October 11th, 2013, 00:07 Posted By: wraggster

Ubisoft has revealed a Season pass and range of DLC for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag – none of which will be made available on Wii U.
The omission of Nintendo’s machine was confirmed toKotaku.
PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360 and PC players, however, will be able to sign up for the game’s Season Pass and automatically receive an additional eight single player missions, some extra multiplayer characters and the Kraken Ship pack, all of which will be released before March of next year.
Paying up for the Season Pass will effectively offer a 20 per cent discount compared to buying all the DLC individually. It’s not yet known how much the Season Pass will cost.
Assassin’s Creed IV will be released on Xbox 360 and PS3 on November 1^st and on Xbox One, PS4, PC and Wii U on November 22^nd.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/no-dl...-wii-u/0122395

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Exclusive Skylanders Swap Force character hits ASDA stores

October 10th, 2013, 23:16 Posted By: wraggster

ASDA is to stock the limited edition ‘Enchanted Hoot Loop’ character for the game Skylanders Swap Force.
Swap Force is the next instalment in the popular Skylandersseries, which uses a combination of videogames and plastic figures. The first game in the series, Spyro’s Adventure, sold over 30 million toys and was the best-selling console and handhold game of 2012.
Players can place the NFC-enabled figures on the ‘Portal of Power’ included with the game, which then makes the characters appear as playable avatars on-screen. Other models can be purchased, including new levels and items.
Swap Force adds to the ability to change characters by allowing players to mix and match the top and bottom halves of the models, creating new combinations of abilities and looks. With 16 Swap Force models initially available, over 250 combinations can be made.
Described in a press release, Enchanted Hoot Loop’s backstory is that he was “raised by the guild of magicians in Skylands most famous travelling circus, perfecting illusions and spells that fought off the invaders and saved the circus”.
Enchanted Hoot Loop will be only available at ASDA, costing £13, and will launch alongside the game, which is available on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U and 3DS, on October 18th. PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game are to be released in November. ASDA has stated that they expect the limited edition character to sell out within seven days. The Skylanders Swap Force starter pack will cost £52.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...-stores/032139

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New Harvest Moon en root to 3DS

October 9th, 2013, 23:27 Posted By: wraggster

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Finding Mario's co-op sweet spot with Super Mario 3D World

October 9th, 2013, 23:24 Posted By: wraggster

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Doodle Jump leaps onto 3DS and oldschool DS this year

October 9th, 2013, 23:08 Posted By: wraggster

Lima Sky's mobile phenomenon Doodle Jump will be making its way to 3DS and, surprisingly, DS later this year in two new spin-offs: Doodle Jump Adventures and Doodle Jump Journey.
Published by GameMill, Doodle Jump Adventures will be the 3DS game, which will host exclusive content like a 48 stage campaign with power-ups and bosses unique to this version of the game.Doodle Jump Journey will be out on the regular old DS and feature an Endless Mode with the franchise's three original themes: Classic, Jungle, and Space.Both versions are being developed by Smoking Gun Interactive, who previouslybrought Doodle Jump to Kinect earlier this year."Nintendo is synonymous with great platformers, adorable characters and on-the-go gaming," said Lima Sky co-founder, Igor Pusenjak. "Doodle Jump is a natural fit on Nintendo's handhelds. We're thrilled to bring the Doodler to audiences that have yet to meet him while bringing great new adventures to our existing fans."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...l-ds-this-year

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Watch Dogs will look better on Wii U than it does on PS3 or Xbox 360

October 9th, 2013, 22:03 Posted By: wraggster

The creative director of Ubisoft’s upcoming Watch Dogs reckons the Wii U version will be graphically superior to its current-gen counterparts.
"I would say the Wii U version is pretty much in between what the current gen is and what the next gen is from a version standpoint," Jonathan Morin told CVG.
"It's hard to position it. I would tend to say it's maybe a bit closer to current-gen than next-gen for certain things but it's a beautiful game on Wii U and it's cool to play it just on the GamePad."
Off-screen play is supported on the GamePad, although there won’t be any fundamental additions over the other versions.
Added Morin: "There are no new features or anything like that – it's the same game but we're optimising the controls for the beast that is the Wii U GamePad."
Of course, if the specs for the PC version of the game are anything to go by that will look simply sensational.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/watch...ox-360/0122302

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Wind Waker refreshed for Wii U in six months

October 9th, 2013, 00:06 Posted By: wraggster

2003 Zelda revamp also faced challenges when it switched to widescreen

Nintendo’s enhanced release of the Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for Wii U took just six months to develop, the game’s producer Eiji Aonuma has explained.

Speaking to Japanese site 4Gamers (translated by Siliconera), Aonuma said that redeveloping the 2003 GameCube title was still difficult because the team had to consider the “difference in hardware this time”.

“Additionally there is a technique known as toon shading, which gives the game a very animated look. At that time, the technique was established, but had not been used before by our staff, everyone had to do everything by hand,” said Aonuma.

As well as this, Aonuma and his team also spent time changing the Wii U version to widescreen. It’s something which has say they wished to do for dramatic effect, but that also cause obscured characters to appear on-screen at inopportune moments which then had to be manually edited out.

“For dramatic purposes, we would have characters we didn’t want in the frame, out of sight, but on the 16:9 ratio, you could still see those characters,” he said.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/w...months/0184189

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EU eShop update: Pokémon X and Y, Tennis and Golf

October 7th, 2013, 22:42 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo has released a list of this week's new European eShop content.
Highlights include the digital release of Pokémon X & Y on 3DS and the launch of Tennis and Golf on Wii U Virtual Console.

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Handheld Console Build-off

October 7th, 2013, 21:51 Posted By: wraggster


The above pic isn’t a new Wii U controller from Nintendo – it’s the product of the 2013 Portable Build-Off Challenge over at the Made By Bacteria forums. Every year the Bacman forums hold a contest to build the best portabalized console, and like every year this year’s entries are top-notch.
One of the more interesting projects this year is a handheld PlayStation 2 put together by [Gman]. It uses a PS2 Slim motherboard and a dualshock 2 controller along with a 4-inch screen to stuff an entire PS2 into a convenient handheld gaming device. [Gman] ditched the CD drive and opted to play games off the USB drive, a clever substitution that really reduces the size and power consumption.
In our humble opinion, the best looking console mod is the one shown above by [Bungle]. It’s a portable GameCube stuffed inside a handmade case with a WiiKey Fusion that allows games to be played off an SD card. It’s an amazing build, and we can only hope [Bungle] will make a few molds of his case.
The entire contest has an incredible display of console modding expertise, and is well worth a look.

http://hackaday.com/2013/10/07/handh...ole-build-off/

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Retrospective: Chrono Trigger

October 6th, 2013, 20:26 Posted By: wraggster

Rescue the beautiful girl. Save the world. This most familiar narrative arc may stretch back through videogame time and far beyond, but it belies Chrono Trigger’s otherwise staggering display of creativity and bold invention.Perhaps the most revered of all of SquareSoft’s releases during the Super Nintendo’s golden age of Japanese RPGs, Chrono Trigger is also the most atypical. Its removal of the genre’s unpopular crutches – the random battles, compulsory level-grinding and long, ponderous battle animations – was unexpected. Its inclusion of multiple endings, breezy non-linearity and focusing of a story on time travel and the relentless quest for reconciliation was positively at odds with a long-established formula its own creators penned.Developed by what Square called its ‘Dream Team’, the game’s illustrious line-up of creative minds united, for the first time, the two godfathers of the genre: Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of Final Fantasy, and Yuji Horii, creator of Dragon Quest. Flanked by the likes of anime art legend Akira Toriyama and Final Fantasy’s well-loved composer Nobuo Uematsu, the team’s title, while boastful, was, in terms of RPGs, exact, and the fingerprints of their experience and insight touch the game like no other.Set in 1000AD, the game draws back the narrative curtain on mute protagonist Crono (so called because limiting his name to five characters and removing the ‘h’ of Chrono freed up valuable cart space). Joined by his best friend, nerdish scientist Lucca, the inventor of the teleporter-turned-time-machine upon which the entire game pivots, the duo travel back and forth between seven different time periods within the same geography, righting history’s wrongs to bring about a peaceful future. By zooming out the narrative and gameplay lens, far up above history’s tapestry, the game is able to explore, with unusual tangibility, the theme of generational cause and effect. While this mechanic drives the main quest – Crono gathers together his ragtag team of friends from as far back as a prehistoric 65 million BC and as far forward as a post-apocalyptic 2300AD – it’s in the optional subquests that its worth is most strikingly revealed.At one point we meet a greedy and foolish Mayor who governs the busy port of Porre. By visiting his family home 400 years earlier, speaking to one of his ancestral mothers and offering her an item for free, history is altered as she vows to bring up her children to believe in generosity and kindness. Upon returning to contemporary Porre, Crono discovers that the mayor is now a charitable man – and the port of Porre is a far more useful town because of it. While the concept is perhaps a little too straightforward and idealistic, it’s blossomed into all manner of clever and thought-provoking scenarios with a creativity few time-travel-themed videogames have since matched.The power of the story, and the pleasure of unravelling its world’s secrets and flaws, is heightened by one of videogaming’s timeless soundtracks. Its author, a young Yasunori Mitsuda, had been hired three years prior to Chrono Trigger’s development to work as a composer at Square. Frustrated at having been used primarily as a sound engineer, Mitsuda gave company president Sakaguchi an ultimatum to either give him a game to score or release him from the company. Under the guidance of Final Fantasy composer Uematsu, Mitsuda worked relentlessly on Chrono Trigger’s soundtrack, falling ill in the process, but creating a backdrop that perfectly complements the story while establishing the character of his later work.Much of the game’s ease and appeal comes from its clever, accessible battle mechanics, which in many ways transcend the genre. Whenever Crono encounters an enemy his teammates appear by his side, in the field environment, and immediately the battle is underway. Eschewing non-interactive pauses wherever possible, the game instead emphasises fast-paced action. Frequent and inventive boss fights maintain a shoot ’em up style pace and urgency while, at the same time, never overwhelming the player with over-intrusive frequency or difficulty.

http://www.edge-online.com/features/...hrono-trigger/

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Mordecai and Rigby go 8-bit this month in Regular Show for 3DS

October 6th, 2013, 00:27 Posted By: wraggster

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Hometown Story travels to North America on October 22

October 6th, 2013, 00:26 Posted By: wraggster

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Transfer critters to Pokémon X/Y this December

October 6th, 2013, 00:25 Posted By: wraggster

Devoted Pokémaniacs will have to wait until December 27 to upload existing teams of Pokémon into Pokémon X/Y, reveals a tweet from Nintendo America.

Unlike prior Pokémon games, Pokémon X and Y do not innately include Pokémon transfer functionality. Instead, players will need to download an eShop app known as the Pokémon Bank. This Bank functions not unlike the Pokémon Box released alongside Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire, as it serves as a repository for Pokémon, but also allows players to transfer their 'mon between generations of Nintendo's handheld franchise.

Information on Pokémon Bank can be found at the app's official site, but the most crucial detail to remember is that Pokémon Bank is not a free app. Players will be granted a gratis trial period, but once that expires Pokémon fans will need to shell out $5 per year to continue using Pokémon Bank.

While the wait and pricing information is disheartening, it does offer an excuse to read our newly-published Pokémon X/Y review which describes the game as "hands-down the best in the series."
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/10/04/tr...this-december/

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Pokemon X & Y review round-up: I choose you

October 6th, 2013, 00:15 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo's next sure-fire blockbuster, Pokemon X & Y, has received widespread acclaim from games critics across the UK and US.
CVG's own Pokemon X & Y review concluded that the game was "the first Pokémon game worthy of the 21st century" and gave it a near-perfect score of nine out of ten.
Joystiq scores the game a nine, and writes: "By combining refinements with classic gameplay, a revamped aesthetic and plenty of new gameplay options, Nintendo has created a Pokémon sequel that will not only be adored by Pokémaniacs, but should also draw new players to the series."
Eurogamer also marks it a near-perfect score, and writes: "The transition to 3D is smooth and natural and the multitudinous additions to the proven formula will excite even the most jaded Pokémon fanatic".
Polygon's reviewer said the 3DS game "made me feel like I was back on the middle school playground, vying for real-life superiority in battle and communing in trade. I didn't think games could still make me feel that way - but I'm so glad to be proven wrong".
GameInformer gives it an 8.75, stating it "does not break the mould of what we expect when we play a Pokémon game, but does go down the check-list of important Pokémon features, neatly ticking them off one by one".
You can find more publications' scores below, with links to their articles.
Edge - 8
PocketGamer - 10
Gamesradar - 8
IGN - 9
Nintendo Life - 9
Kotaku - Yes
Gamesbeat - 82
NowGamer - 9

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-i-choose-you/

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Nintendo ropes in MonoGame support for Wii U

October 5th, 2013, 11:18 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo has is taken MonoGame on-board to make the development framework available to Wii U game creators, Siliconera reports.

Designed as an open source implantation of the Microsoft XNA 4 Framework, MonoGame has been used to create a number of acclaimed indie titles, such as Fez, Bastion and Skulls of the Shogun.

Much like Unity, MonoGame’s goal is to allow XNA developers to port their games to the iOS, Android, Mac, Linux and Windows 8.

Support for PlayStation Mobile and Raspberry Pi is currently in the works.

The Japanese giant previously added Unity to Wii U’s roster of cross-platform development frameworks in an effort to attractive more independent developers to the machine and expand its library of software.

http://www.develop-online.net/news/n...-wii-u/0184093

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Daring Options for Nintendo

October 4th, 2013, 00:52 Posted By: wraggster

Should Nintendo consider selling a Wii U package for cheap without the Gamepad tablet controller?
Recently Nintendo released two key bits of information about its future. The first was that production of the Wii in Japan is halting, and the second is that Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze will be delayed into February of 2014 from its original December 2013 ship date. Now, it's true the Wii is still being produced for other regions, and that a couple of months delay for a game is hardly unusual. Still, these are disturbing signs that all is not well with Nintendo, and it may be time to look to more daring solutions than just releasing hardware in a new color.
The hardware situation for Nintendo is not encouraging. The Wii U has fallen flat since the initial flurry of enthusiasm, and sales have yet to reach significant levels even with the price cut to $299. The Wii is slowing down so much that Nintendo is giving up on it in Japan, and other regions are probably not far behind. Most households now have an HDTV, and they want a console that gives them HD graphics.
The 3DS is a bright spot, but with every month the pressure on it from smartphones and tablets increases. Take a look at a typical smartphone screen, and compare it side-by-side to a 3DS. Even with revered brands from the past, the 3DS is just not competitive on a hardware level.
The Wii U is suffering in comparison to not just the PS4 and the Xbox One, which are obviously capable of far better graphics and have dozens of titles coming, but even to the PS3 and the Xbox 360. Looking at a PS3 or an Xbox 360 and the titles available this holiday for them, the average consumer will easily choose them over a Wii U - and save some money in the bargain. How can Nintendo regain an edge?
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...s-for-nintendo

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'Price is not the problem' - The Wii U rescue plan

October 4th, 2013, 00:19 Posted By: wraggster

The Wii U state of emergency was declared a long time ago.
A poor launch was followed by almost nine months of silence – no blockbuster titles, no huge marketing push. Pikmin 3 in July inspired a flicker of activity, but that was about it.
Asda and Morrisons dropped the console. Nintendo revealed that it has barely sold over 3.5m Wii U consoles. And an increasing number of industry commentators are ignoring the old adage that you never count out Nintendo.
But it’s not over yet. Debate over Nintendo’s strategy and whether it is developing enough new IP is for another day. Nintendo’s immediate priority must be to sell more Wii Us and sell them quickly, before more retailers cut its shelf space in favour of PS4, Xbox One or even Disney Infinity and Skylanders.
“Retailers need to start seeing Wii U sales picking up. Everyone is looking for that,” says UK marketing boss Shelly Pearce. “We haven’t had the sales we have wanted on Wii U hardware. We haven’t had the software for the beginning part of this year. But we have some quite ambitious targets, particularly as we have some of our biggest franchises coming.
“We are delivering a really strong software line-up. Retailers are feeling Wii U is in a much better place than last Christmas.”

“Retailers need to start seeing Wii U sales
picking up. Everyone is looking for that. We
haven’t had the sales we have wanted on Wii
U hardware. We haven’t had the software for
the beginning part of this year. But we have
some quite ambitious targets, particularly as
we have some of our biggest franchises coming."

Shelly Pearce - UK marketing boss, Nintendo UK

That ‘strong line-up’ features some of Nintendo’s biggest brands. Zelda, Mario, Wii Fit, Wii Sports and Wii Party, and Sega has lent the platform holder two exclusive Sonic games, too.
Pearce adds: “We are very lucky to work for a company that delivers such great things. Like everybody else, we’ve been disappointed by the sales at first. But we know what has been coming, so we’ve been quietly confident. There’s a real feeling of momentum in the office now.”
The campaign that Nintendo detailed to MCV is extensive, with separate ad plans for all of its major titles, targeting three key audiences – kids, families, and Nintendo fans. But the big effort from Nintendo is educating parents that this is a different machine to the original Wii.
“There was a big misconception at launch about what Wii U is,” admits Pearce. “And one of the big messages is to explain to mum that this is a new console and a new controller.
“In terms of the marketing work we’ve done against dads, there is now a pretty good understanding there. But many mums don’t know what this is. They’re buying what they’re advised to and going into shops, so we are relying a lot on retail to explain that this is a new piece of hardware.”

A lot of this campaign involves outdoor activity, TV spots, and plenty of online promotion (see ‘Wii will fix U’ ). But one of the more interesting elements of the campaign is a deal with Tesco, targeting customers that have bought a Wii but have not bought another console since.
It’s because, Nintendo says, not all Wii consoles are gathering dust.
“What we are seeing with our monthly tracking is that Wii remains the No.1 console for brand awareness,” says Pearce. “And we have done several studies, and there are so many families actively playing on Wii.
“Perhaps sometimes as an industry we don’t see it, because we are so focused on core fans who are obviously not the ones that are still playing. I sit in this target audience as a mum that has kids of this age, and amongst my peer group I have people that are just buying their first console and people who are still playing their original Wii sometimes.
“That has been one of our biggest barriers, but it is also a great opportunity because it means they are still with Wii. And it’s through the insight from the Tesco deal that we know families are still playing and have not bought anything else yet. So it’s a great opportunity if we can get the job right in educating people.”
Nintendo has turned around a console before. 3DS suffered a poor start, but with some big games, better marketing and a price cut, it’s now seeing some good momentum.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/price...e-plan/0122068

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Mario Party Island Tour delayed to 2014 in Europe

October 3rd, 2013, 01:46 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo of Europe has delayed the release of Mario Party Island Tour from this winter to early 2014, ONM reports.
The 3DS game was originally scheduled to release this November in both Europe and the US. Nintendo of America made no mention of a delay in its Nintendo Direct broadcast on Tuesday, so the planned 2013 release would appear to be on track in North America.
Revealed in April, Mario Party Island Tour will retain the traditional series gameplay concept of rolling a dice, moving along a board and competing in mini-games.
However, Nintendo has said that each of the title's seven game boards will contain their own set of rules.
The title will feature 81 new mini games that test "speed, concentration and luck". In addition to the board game elements, players will be able to play mini games exclusively or try their hand at various AR Card games.
On Tuesday, Nintendo also announced that Wii U game Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze has been delayed from this year to 2014 in both Europe and the US.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...014-in-europe/

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